Claims
- 1. A method of making a respirator, which method comprises:
placing an electret in a respirator body that is adapted to fit over the nose and mouth of a wearer, the electret being disposed in the respirator body such that when in use air passes therethrough before being inhaled by a wearer of the respirator, the electret comprising a nonwoven web that includes polymeric microfibers and that has at least about 25% atomic fluorine as detected by ESCA and has a CF3:CF2 ratio of at least about 0.45 as determined according to the Method of Determining CF3:CF2.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising disposing a liner over the electret.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the respirator body has a cup-like shape.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the electret comprises a plurality of nonwoven webs.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web comprises fibers selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, poly-(4-methyl-1-pentene), or a combination thereof.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web comprises meltblown microfibers.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the nonwoven web further comprises staple fibers.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web has a basis weight of from 10 g/m2 to 100 g/m2.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web has a basis weight of from 50 g/m2 to 62 g/m2.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web comprises at least about 45 atomic % fluorine as detected by ESCA.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web comprises at least about 50 atomic % fluorine as detected by ESCA.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web has a CF3:CF2 ratio of at least 0.9.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the electret exhibits a Quality Factor of at least 0.5/mmH2O.
- 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the electret exhibits a Quality Factor of at least 0.25/mmH2O.
- 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the electret exhibits a DOP penetration of less than 20% for a DOP load from 0.05 grams to 0.2 grams.
- 16. The method of claim 1, wherein said nonwoven web is surface modified.
- 17. The method of claim 1, wherein said nonwoven web comprises a fluorinated nonwoven web.
- 18. A method of making a respirator, which method comprises:
placing an electret in a respirator body that is adapted to fit over the nose and mouth of a wearer, the electret being disposed in the respirator body such that when in use air passes therethrough before being inhaled by a wearer of the respirator, the electret comprising a nonwoven web that includes polymeric microfibers and that has at least about 45% atomic fluorine as detected by ESCA and has a CF3:CF2 ratio of at least about 0.25 as determined according to the Method of Determining CF3:CF2.
- 19. A method of making a respirator, which method comprises:
positioning an electret as a prefilter in a respirator, the electret comprising a nonwoven web that includes polymeric microfibers and that has at least about 45% atomic fluorine as detected by ESCA and has a CF3:CF2 ratio of at least about 0.45 as determined according to the Method of Determining CF3:CF2.
- 20. A method of making a respirator, which method comprises:
disposing an electret in a canister suitable for use in a respirator; and attaching the canister to a respirator body, wherein
the electret comprises a nonwoven web that includes polymeric microfibers and that has at least about 45% atomic fluorine as detected by ESCA and has a CF3:CF2 ratio of at least about 0.45 as determined according to the Method of Determining CF3:CF2.
- 21. A method of making a respirator, which method comprises:
disposing an electret in a replaceable cartridge of a respirator; and attaching the replaceable cartridge to a respirator body, the electret comprising a nonwoven web that includes polymeric microfibers, the nonwoven web having at least about 45% atomic fluorine as detected by ESCA and a CF3:CF2 ratio of at least about 0.45 as determined according to the Method of Determining CF3:CF2.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/681,670, filed Oct. 7, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/391,240, filed Mar. 18, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,210, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/126,028, filed Apr. 19, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,112, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/109,497, filed Jul. 2, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,175.
Continuations (4)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10681670 |
Oct 2003 |
US |
Child |
10840912 |
May 2004 |
US |
Parent |
10391240 |
Mar 2003 |
US |
Child |
10681670 |
Oct 2003 |
US |
Parent |
10126028 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Child |
10391240 |
Mar 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09109497 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
10126028 |
Apr 2002 |
US |